Multi-angled deposition and masking for custom spacer trim and selected spacer removal

ABSTRACT

Multi-angled deposition and masking techniques are provided to enable custom trimming and selective removal of spacers that are used for patterning features at sub-lithographic dimensions. For example, a method includes forming a sacrificial mandrel on a substrate, and forming first and second spacers on opposing sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel. The first and second spacers are formed with an initial thickness Ts. A first angle deposition process is performed to deposit a material (e.g., insulating material or metallic material) at a first deposition angle A1 to form a first trim mask layer on an upper portion of the first spacer and the sacrificial mandrel while preventing the material from being deposited on the second spacer. A spacer etch process is performed to trim the first spacer to a first thickness T1, which is less than Ts, using the first trim mask layer as an etch mask.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to semiconductor fabricationtechniques and, in particular, multi-patterning photolithographicmethods for fabricating semiconductor integrated circuits.

BACKGROUND

Various types of multi-patterning photolithography techniques can beutilized to manufacture semiconductor integrated circuits. Suchmulti-patterning techniques include sidewall image transfer (SIT),self-aligned doubled patterning (SADP), and self-aligned quadruplepatterning (SAQP) techniques, for example. These multi-patterningmethods are utilized to enhance feature density, and are expected to beparticularly useful and necessary for the next generation technologynodes, e.g., 10 nm and beyond. The current SIT, SADP and SAQP methodsutilize deposition and etch back processes to create uniformmemorization and transfer elements. In particular, these techniquesinvolve spacer patterning steps in which spacers are formed on thesidewalls of sacrificial features (e.g., sacrificial mandrels), and thesacrificial features are removed, leaving a pattern of spacers which isutilized to etch features into an underlying layer at sub-lithographicdimensions. As is known in the art, the term “critical dimension” (CD)refers to the dimensions of the smallest geometrical features (width ofinterconnect line, contacts, trenches, etc.) which can be formed duringsemiconductor device fabrication using a given semiconductor technology.The CD is primarily determined by material thicknesses and etch rates.While wet and dry isotropic etch methods can be used to further reducefeatures below the CD of the features, these isotropic etch techniquesare limited by the etch selectivity of the surrounding semiconductormaterials.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention include multi-angled deposition and maskingtechniques that enable custom trimming and selective removal of spacersthat are used for patterning features at sub-lithographic dimensions.

One embodiment includes a method to form a pattern of spacers which areused for patterning features of a semiconductor device as follows. Asacrificial mandrel is formed on a substrate, wherein the sacrificialmandrel comprises opposing first and second sidewalls. A first spacer isformed on the first sidewall of the sacrificial mandrel and a secondspacer is formed on the second sidewall of the sacrificial mandrel. Thefirst and second spacers are formed to have an initial spacer thicknessTs. A first angle deposition process is performed to deposit a materialat a first deposition angle A1 to form a first trim mask layer on anupper portion of the first spacer and the sacrificial mandrel whilepreventing the material from being deposited on the second spacer. Aspacer etch process is performed to trim the first spacer to a firstthickness T1, which is less than Ts, using the first trim mask layer asan etch mask. The trimmed first spacer is utilized to pattern anunderlying layer of the substrate. The material that is angle depositedto form the first trim mask layer comprises an insulating material or ametallic material.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises performing a secondangle deposition process to deposit a material (e.g., insulatingmaterial or metallic material) at a second deposition angle A2 to form asecond trim mask layer on an upper portion of the second spacer and thesacrificial mandrel while preventing additional material from beingdeposited on the first spacer. The spacer etch process is furtherperformed to trim the second spacer to a second thickness T2, which isless than Ts, using the second trim mask layer as an etch mask. In oneembodiment, the first and second deposition angles A1 and A2 areselected to form the first and second trim mask layers so that thetrimmed thicknesses T1 and T2 of the first and second spacers aresubstantially the same. In another embodiment, the first and seconddeposition angles A1 and A2 are selected to form the first and secondtrim mask layers so that the trimmed thicknesses T1 and T2 of the firstand second spacers are different.

Another embodiment includes a method to form a pattern of spacers whichare used for patterning feature of a semiconductor device as follows. Aplurality of sacrificial mandrels are formed on a substrate, whichcomprise at least a first sacrificial mandrel and a second sacrificialmandrel, wherein each sacrificial mandrel comprises opposing first andsecond sidewalls. A first spacer is formed on the first sidewall of eachsacrificial mandrel and a second spacer is formed on the second sidewallof each sacrificial mandrel. The first and second spacers are formed tohave an initial spacer thickness Ts. A first angle deposition process isperformed to deposit material (e.g., insulating material or metallicmaterial) at a first deposition angle A1 to form a first trim mask layeron an upper portion of each of the first spacers and on the uppersurfaces of the sacrificial mandrels while preventing the material frombeing deposited on the second spacers. A first planarized insulatinglayer is formed over the substrate to cover the first and second spacersand the sacrificial mandrels. A first etch mask is formed on theplanarized insulating layer, wherein the first etch mask comprises anopening having a lateral width W1 which is greater than the thickness Tsof the first and second spacers. The opening along a direction of thelateral width W1 overlaps an entire thickness Ts of a length portion ofthe second spacer disposed on the second sidewall of first sacrificialmandrel and at least one of (i) a portion of the first trim mask layercovering the upper surface of the first sacrificial mandrel and thefirst spacer disposed on the first sidewall of the first sacrificialmandrel and (ii) a portion of the planarized insulating layer disposedadjacent to the second spacer. An etch process is performed to remove aportion of planarized insulating layer exposed through the opening ofthe first etch mask, and to remove a portion of the second spacerexposed through the opening of the first etch mask.

Other embodiments will be described in the following detaileddescription of embodiments, which is to be read in conjunction with theaccompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 through 9B schematically illustrate a global spacer trimmingprocess according to an embodiment of the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view of a semiconductor device atan intermediate stage of fabrication which comprises a substrate, and afirst insulating layer, a hard mask layer, and a second insulating layersequentially formed on the substrate;

FIG. 2 is cross-sectional schematic side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 1 after forming an etch mask which is used to patternthe underlying second insulating layer;

FIGS. 3A and 3B schematically illustrate the semiconductor structure ofFIG. 2 after etching the second insulating layer to form a pattern ofsacrificial mandrel features;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional schematic side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 3A after depositing a conformal layer of insulatingmaterial to conformally cover the surfaces of the sacrificial mandrelfeatures with spacer material;

FIGS. 5A and 5B schematically illustrate the semiconductor structure ofFIG. 4 after etching the conformal layer of insulating material to forma plurality of spacers on sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel features;

FIG. 6A schematically illustrates an example of an angle depositionprocess that is performed on the semiconductor structure of FIG. 5A forangle depositing a layer of material at a first deposition angle to formspacer trim masks on the spacers that are disposed on first sidewalls ofthe sacrificial mandrel features;

FIG. 6B schematically illustrates another example of an angle depositionprocess that is performed on the semiconductor structure of FIG. 5A forangle depositing a layer of material at second deposition angle (whichis greater than the first deposition angle of FIG. 6A) to form spacertrim masks on the spacers that are disposed on the first sidewalls ofthe sacrificial mandrel features;

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates an angle deposition process that isperformed on the semiconductor structure of FIG. 6A for angle depositinga layer of material to form spacer trim masks on the spacers that aredisposed on second sidewalls, opposite the first sidewalls, of thesacrificial mandrel features;

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 7 showing an etch process that is performed todifferentially trim the exposed sidewall surfaces of the spacers onopposing sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel features to have differentthicknesses; and

FIGS. 9A and 9B schematically illustrate the semiconductor structure ofFIG. 8 after removing the spacer trim masks from the spacers.

FIGS. 10 through 19B schematically illustrate a method for selectivelyremoving and/or trimming one or more spacers according to an embodimentof the invention, wherein:

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates an example of an angle depositionprocess that is performed on the semiconductor structure of FIG. 5A forangle depositing a layer of material at a deposition angle A4 to formspacer trim masks on the spacers that are disposed on first sidewalls ofthe sacrificial mandrel features;

FIGS. 11A and 11B schematically illustrate the semiconductor structureof FIG. 10 after encapsulating the spacer and sacrificial mandrelfeatures in a first planarized insulating layer and forming a first etchmask on the first planarized insulating layer;

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 11A after etching exposed portions of the firstplanarized insulating layer and a target spacer through an opening ofthe first etch mask;

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 12 after removing remaining portions of the first etchmask and the first planarized insulating layer;

FIGS. 14A and 14B schematically illustrate the semiconductor structureof FIG. 13 after removing the spacer trim masks from the spacersdisposed on first sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel features;

FIG. 15 schematically illustrates an angle deposition process that isperformed on the semiconductor structure of FIGS. 14A and 14B for angledepositing a layer of material to form spacer trim masks on the spacersthat are disposed on the second sidewalls, opposite the first sidewalls,of the sacrificial mandrel features;

FIGS. 16A and 16B schematically illustrate the semiconductor structureof FIG. 15 after encapsulating the spacer and sacrificial mandrelfeatures in a second planarized insulating layer and forming a secondetch mask on the second planarized insulating layer;

FIGS. 17A and 17B schematically illustrate the semiconductor structureshown in FIGS. 16A and 16B after etching exposed portions of the secondplanarized insulating layer and a target spacer through an opening ofthe second etch mask;

FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 17A after removing remaining portions of the secondetch mask and the second planarized insulating layer; and

FIGS. 19A and 19B schematically illustrate the semiconductor structureof FIG. 18 after removing the spacer trim masks from the spacersdisposed on the second sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel features.

FIGS. 20 through 23 schematically illustrate a method for utilizing thepattern of spacers shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B to pattern an underlyinglayer of a substrate, wherein:

FIG. 20 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 19A after etching away the sacrificial mandrelfeatures selective to the spacers;

FIG. 21 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 20 after etching the underlying hard mask layer usingthe pattern of spacers as an etch mask to form a hard mask pattern;

FIG. 22 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 21 after selectively removing the spacers from theupper surface of the hard mask pattern; and

FIG. 23 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductorstructure of FIG. 22 after etching the underlying insulating layer usingthe hard mask pattern.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in further detailwith regard to multi-angled deposition and masking techniques thatenable custom trimming and selective removal of spacer features that arefor patterning other features at sub-lithographic dimensions. Asexplained in further detail below, multi-angled deposition and maskingtechniques according to embodiments of the invention are implemented byangle-depositing a layer of material (e.g., insulating material ormetallic material) over portions of the spacers, which provide trimmasks that are used for etching away exposed portions of the spacers(i.e., trimming the spacers) to adjust the thickness of the spacers, asdesired, to sub-lithographic dimensions. The custom spacer thicknessesare achieved by modulating the angle of deposition of the material tocover more or less of the spacers, as desired, so that the spacers canbe custom trimmed with high precision based on the angle of deposition.For example, with the exemplary spacer trimming methods describedherein, the spacers on opposite sides of a given sacrificial feature(e.g., sacrificial mandrel) can be differentially trimmed to havedifferent thicknesses by using different deposition angles to formdifferent size trim masks on the spacers on opposite sides of thesacrificial feature.

It is to be understood that the various layers, structures, and regionsshown in the accompanying drawings are schematic illustrations that arenot drawn to scale. In addition, for ease of explanation, one or morelayers, structures, and regions of a type commonly used to formsemiconductor devices or structures may not be explicitly shown in agiven drawing. This does not imply that any layers, structures, andregions not explicitly shown are omitted from the actual semiconductorstructures.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the embodiments discussedherein are not limited to the particular materials, features, andprocessing steps shown and described herein. In particular, with respectto semiconductor processing steps, it is to be emphasized that thedescriptions provided herein are not intended to encompass all of theprocessing steps that may be required to form a functional semiconductorintegrated circuit device. Rather, certain processing steps that arecommonly used in forming semiconductor devices, such as, for example,wet cleaning and annealing steps, are purposefully not described hereinfor economy of description.

Moreover, the same or similar reference numbers are used throughout thedrawings to denote the same or similar features, elements, orstructures, and thus, a detailed explanation of the same or similarfeatures, elements, or structures will not be repeated for each of thedrawings. It is to be understood that the terms “about” or“substantially” as used herein with regard to thicknesses, widths,percentages, ranges, etc., are meant to denote being close orapproximate to, but not exactly. For example, the term “about” or“substantially” as used herein implies that a small margin of error ispresent, such as 1% or less than the stated amount.

To provide spatial context to the different structural orientations ofthe semiconductor structures shown throughout the drawings, XYZCartesian coordinates are shown in each of the drawings. It is to beunderstood that the terms “vertical” or “vertical direction” as usedherein denotes a Z-direction of the Cartesian coordinates shown in thedrawings, and that the terms “horizontal” or “horizontal direction” asused herein denotes an X-direction and/or Y-direction of the Cartesiancoordinates shown in the drawings, which is perpendicular to theZ-direction.

Methods for fabricating semiconductor devices using multi-angleddeposition and masking techniques, which enable custom trimming andselective removal of patterning spacers that are used for patterningfeatures at sub-lithographic dimensions, will now be discussed infurther details with initial reference to FIG. 1. In particular, FIG. 1is a cross-sectional schematic view of a semiconductor device 100 at anintermediate stage of fabrication which comprises a substrate 110, and astack of layers formed on top of the substrate 110, including a firstinsulating layer 116, a hard mask layer 118, and a second insulatinglayer 120. The substrate 110 is generically depicted in FIG. 1 ascomprising an underlying base semiconductor substrate 112 (e.g.,semiconductor wafer) and a device/layer stack 114 comprising integratedcircuitry and interconnect layers/structures that are formed on the basesemiconductor substrate 112 prior to formation of the first insulatinglayer 116.

In one embodiment, the base semiconductor substrate 112 may be a bulksemiconductor substrate formed of, e.g., silicon, or other types ofsemiconductor substrate materials that are commonly used in bulksemiconductor fabrication processes such as germanium, silicon-germaniumalloy, silicon carbide, silicon-germanium carbide alloy, or compoundsemiconductor materials (e.g. III-V and II-VI). Non-limiting examples ofcompound semiconductor materials include gallium arsenide, indiumarsenide, and indium phosphide. In another embodiment, the basesemiconductor substrate 112 may be a SOI (silicon on insulator)substrate, which comprises an insulating layer (e.g., oxide layer)disposed between a base substrate layer (e.g., silicon substrate) and anactive semiconductor layer (e.g., active silicon layer) in which activecircuit components (e.g., field effect transistors) are formed as partof a FEOL (front-end-of-line layer.

The device/layer stack 114 comprises a FEOL layer, a MOL layer (or atleast a portion of the MOL layer), and/or a BEOL layer (or at least aportion of the BEOL layer). As is known in the art, a FEOL layercomprises various semiconductor devices and components that are formedin or on the active surface of the semiconductor substrate 112 toprovide integrated circuitry for a target application. For example, theFEOL layer comprises FET devices (such as FinFET devices, planar MOSFETdevice, etc.), bipolar transistors, diodes, capacitors, inductors,resistors, isolation devices, etc., which are formed in or on the activesurface of the semiconductor substrate 112. In general, FEOL processestypically include preparing the semiconductor substrate 112 (or wafer),forming isolation structures (e.g., shallow trench isolation), formingdevice wells, patterning gate structures, forming spacers, formingsource/drain regions (e.g., via implantation), forming silicide contactson the source/drain regions, forming stress liners, etc.

Furthermore, a MOL layer is formed on the FEOL layer. In general, theMOL layer comprises one or more PMD (pre-metal dielectric) layers andconductive contacts (e.g., via contacts) that are formed in the PMDlayer. The PMD layer is formed over the components and devices of theFEOL layer. A pattern of openings is formed in the PMD layer, and theopenings are filled with a conductive material, such as tungsten, toform conductive via contacts that are in electrical contact with deviceterminals (e.g., source/drain regions, gate contacts, etc.) of theintegrated circuitry of the FEOL layer. The conductive via contacts ofthe MOL layer provide electrical connections between the integratedcircuitry of the FEOL layer and a first level of metallization of a BEOLstructure.

A BEOL structure is formed on the FEOL/MOL structure to connect thevarious integrated circuit components of the FEOL layer. As is known inthe art, a BEOL structure comprises multiple levels of dielectricmaterial and levels of metallization embedded in the dielectricmaterial. The BEOL metallization comprises horizontal wiring,interconnects, pads, etc., as well as vertical wiring in the form ofconductive vias that form connections between different interconnectlevels of the BEOL structure. A BEOL fabrication process involvessuccessive depositing and patterning of multiple layers of dielectricand metallic material to form a network of electrical connectionsbetween the FEOL devices and to provide I/O connections to externalcomponents.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the first insulating layer 116generically represents an insulating layer (e.g., PMD (pre-metaldeposition) layer) of a MOL layer or an interlevel dielectric layer (ILDlayer) that forms a given interconnect level of a BEOL layer. In thisregard, the first insulating layer 116 is part of a MOL or BEOL layerwhich is to be patterned using multi-patterning photolithographicmethods according to embodiments of the invention as discussed below.For example, for a BEOL layer, the first insulating layer can be etchedusing method discussed hereon to form a pattern of openings (e.g.,trenches or vias) in the first insulating layer 116, which are to befilled with metallic materials such as copper to form wiring andvertical via structures, etc. The first insulating layer 116 can beformed using any suitable dielectric material including, but not limitedto, silicon oxide (e.g. SiO2), SiN (e.g., (Si3N4), hydrogenated siliconcarbon oxide (SiCOH), silicon based low-k dielectrics, porousdielectrics, or other known ULK (ultra-low-k) dielectric materials. Thefirst insulating layer 116 can be deposited using known depositiontechniques, such as, for example, ALD (atomic layer deposition), CVD(chemical vapor deposition) PECVD (plasma-enhanced CVD), or PVD(physical vapor deposition). The thickness of the first insulating layer116 will vary depending on the application, and may have a thickness ina range of about 30 nm to about 200 nm, for example.

The hard mask layer 118 is formed on the first insulating layer 118using known deposition techniques. The hard mask layer 118 is formed ofa material that has etch selectivity with respect to the insulatingmaterials of the first insulating layer 116 and the second insulatinglayer 120. For example, the hard mask layer 118 can be formed of anitride material such as TiN or SiN, etc.

The second insulating layer 120 is formed of an insulating/dielectricmaterial which has etch selectivity with respect to the material of thehard mask layer 118. For example, the second insulating layer 120 can beformed of an oxide material when the hard mask layer 118 is formed of anitride material. The second insulating layer 120 is patterned to form apattern of sacrificial features (e.g., sacrificial mandrels) on whichspacers are subsequently formed to facilitate spacer patterning insubsequent processing steps as discussed below. The second insulatinglayer 120 is patterned using a process flow as schematically illustratedin FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B.

In particular, FIG. 2 is cross-sectional schematic side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 1 after forming an etch mask 130 on thesecond insulating layer 120, which is used to pattern the underlyingsecond insulating layer 120. In one embodiment, the etch mask 130comprises a photoresist mask that is formed by depositing a layer ofphotoresist material and patterning (exposing and developing) the layerof photoresist material to form the etch mask 130 shown in FIG. 2. Inanother embodiment, the etch mask 130 can be formed using othermaterials and techniques.

Next, FIG. 3A is cross-sectional schematic side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 2 after etching the second insulatinglayer 120 to form a pattern of sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124126, 128. The pattern of sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, 128is formed by transferring the image of the etch mask 130 into the secondinsulating layer 120. The second insulating layer 120 can be etchedusing a dry plasma etch process (e.g., RIE (reactive ion etch)) using anetch chemistry that is suitable to etch the material of the secondinsulating layer 120 selective to the underlying hard mask layer 118. Inthis regard, the hard mask layer 118 serves as an etch stop for the etchprocess.

FIG. 3B is a schematic top plan view of the semiconductor structureshown in FIG. 3A, wherein FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of thesemiconductor structure taken along line 3A-3A shown in FIG. 3B. Ascollectively shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the sacrificial mandrel features122, 124, 126, and 128 comprise elongated features which are spacedapart by pitch P and which have a thickness T. In one embodiment, thepitch P is about 60 nm or less, and the thickness T is in a range ofabout 10 nm to about 15 nm. Furthermore, the sacrificial mandrelfeatures 122, 124, 126, and 128 have a height H which is in a range ofabout 20 nm to about 50 nm.

A next phase of the fabrication process comprises forming spacers on thesidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128using a process flow as schematically illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5A and 5B.For example, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional schematic side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 3A after depositing a conformal layer ofinsulating material 140 to conformally cover the surfaces of thesacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128 with spacermaterial. In one embodiment of the invention, the layer of insulatingmaterial 140 is formed of a dielectric/insulating which has etchselectivity with respect to the material of the sacrificial mandrelfeatures 122, 124, 126, and 128. For example, if the sacrificial mandrelfeatures 122, 124, 126, and 128 are formed of an oxide material (e.g.,silicon oxide), the conformal layer of insulating material 140 is formedof a nitride material (e.g., silicon nitride), and vice versa. In oneexample embodiment of the invention, the conformal layer of insulatingmaterial 140 is formed with a thickness Ts in a range of about 10 nm toabout 15 nm on the vertical and horizontal surface of the semiconductorstructures.

FIGS. 5A and 5B schematically illustrate a next step in the process flowwhich comprises etching the conformal layer of insulating material 140to form a plurality of spacers S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 and S8. FIG.5B is a top plan view of the semiconductor structure shown in FIG. 5A,and FIG. 5A is a cross sectional view of the semiconductor structuretaken along line 5A-5A in FIG. 5B. In particular, FIG. 5A is across-sectional schematic side view of the semiconductor structure ofFIG. 4 after etching back and pulling down the conformal layer ofinsulating material 140 to etch away portions of the layer of insulatingmaterial 140 from the horizontal surfaces of the semiconductorstructure, and to recess the insulating material on the upper verticalsidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128.The etch process results in the formation of pairs of spacers S1/S2,S3/S4, S5/S6, and S7/S8 on opposing first and second sidewalls of therespective sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128, whereineach spacer S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 and S8 has a thickness of aboutTs.

In one embodiment of the invention, the etch back/pulldown etch processperformed using a directional dry etch process (anisotropic), such asME, having an etch chemistry which is suitable to etch the material ofthe spacers S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 and S8 selective to the materialof the sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128. During thedirectional etch process, there is minimal or no etching of theunderlying hard mask layer 118 because the “aspect ratio” of the openspaces between the features is large enough to effectively serve as anetch mask to prevent etching of the exposed portions of the hard masklayer 118, as is understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. Inanother embodiment, the etch chemistry selected to etch the spacers S1,S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 and S8 is chosen to be selective to both thesacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128 and the hard masklayer 118. The etch process can be timed to remove all of the layer ofinsulating material 140 on the upper surface of the sacrificial mandrelfeatures and pull down the spacers S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 and S8 toa target height on the sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel features122, 124, 126, and 128. While the etch back/pull down processeffectively makes the spacers S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 and S8 shorterwith time, the thickness of the spacers S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 andS8 remains substantially the same thickness Ts of the conformal layer ofinsulating material 140.

A next phase of the fabrication process comprises performing amulti-angled deposition process to angle-deposit a layer of materialover upper portions of the spacers S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 and S8, toform spacer trim masks that are used for etching away exposed portionsof the spacers (i.e., trimming the spacers) to adjust the thickness ofthe spacers. In one embodiment of the invention, a non-specific globalspacer trimming process is performed through a multi-angled depositionprocess flow, as schematically illustrated in FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7, 8, 9A,and 9B. In another embodiment of the invention, multi-angled depositionand masking methods are performed to selectively trim and/or remove oneor more spacers using a process flow as schematically illustrated inFIGS. 10, 11A, 11B, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16A, 16B, 17A, 17B, 18, 19A, and19B. In all of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein, it is to beunderstood that the spacer trim masks can be formed by angle depositinginsulating material or metallic material. For purposes of illustration,however, the embodiments discussed herein may be described in thecontext of angle depositing insulating material to form spacer trimmasks, but in each instance, metallic material can be used instead ofinsulating material to form the spacer trim masks.

In particular, an initial step of a non-specific global spacer trimprocess according to an embodiment of the invention begins with FIG. 6A,which schematically shows an angle deposition process 200 that isperformed on the semiconductor structure of FIG. 5A for angle depositinga layer of insulating material to form a spacer trim mask 202 on anupper portion of each of the spacers S1, S3, S5, and S7 that aredisposed on a first sidewall (e.g., left side) of the sacrificialmandrel features 122, 124, 126 and 128. As shown in FIG. 6A, the angledeposition process 200 is performed at first angle A1 to form the spacertrim masks 202 which cover upper portions of the left side spacers S1,S3, S5, and S7 at a target level L1 (indicated by line L1-L1) and above.As further shown in FIG. 6A, the portions of the spacers S1, S3, S5, andS7 which are covered by the spacer trim masks 202 have a thickness T1.The thickness T1 is a function of the pitch P of the sacrificial mandrelfeatures 122, 124, 126, and 128 and the deposition angle A1, as theupper portions of the sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and128 essentially block the insulating material from being deposited onthe spacers S1, S3, S5, and S7 below the target level L1. The depositionangle can be decreased or increased to form a larger or smaller spacertrim mask on the upper portion of the spacers.

For example, 6B schematically shows another exemplary angle depositionprocess 210 that can be performed on the semiconductor structure of FIG.5A for angle depositing a layer of insulating material to form a spacertrim mask 212 on an upper portion of each of the spacers S1, S3, S5, andS7 that are disposed on the first sidewalls (e.g., left side) of thesacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126 and 128. In particular, FIG.6B schematically illustrates the angle deposition process 210 beingperformed at a second angle A2, which is greater than the firstdeposition angle A1 of the angle deposition process 200 schematicallyshown in FIG. 6A. In this regard, as shown in FIG. 6B, the insulatingmaterial is deposited on the upper portions of the spacers S1, S3, S5,and S7 at a level L2 (as indicated by the line L2-L2) which is lowerthan the level L1 shown in FIG. 6A. As such, the portions of the spacersS1, S3, S5 and S7 which are covered by the spacer trim masks 212 have athickness T2, which is greater than the thickness T1 of the portions ofthe spacers S1, S3, S5, and S7 which are covered by the spacer trimmasks 202 in FIG. 6A.

A next step of the non-specific global spacer trim process is shown inFIG. 7, which schematically illustrates an angle deposition process 220that is performed on the semiconductor structure of FIG. 6A for angledepositing a layer of insulating material to form a spacer trim mask 222on an upper portion of each of the spacers S2, S4, S6, and S8 that aredisposed on a second sidewall (e.g., right side) of the sacrificialmandrel features 122, 124, 126 and 128. As shown in FIG. 7, the angledeposition process 220 is performed at third angle A3 to form the spacertrim masks 222 which cover upper portions of the right side spacers S2,S4, S6 and S8 at a target level L3 (indicated by line L3-L3) and above.As further shown in FIG. 7, the portions of the spacers S2, S4, S6 andS8 which are covered by the spacer trim masks 222 have a thickness T3.As noted above, the thickness T3 is a function of the pitch P of thesacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128 and the depositionangle A3, as the upper portions of the sacrificial mandrel features 122,124, 126, and 128 essentially block the insulating material from beingdeposited on the sides of the spacers S2, S4, S6, and S8 below thetarget level L3.

It is to be understood that FIG. 7 is an example embodiment in which thedeposition angles A1 and A3 that are used to deposit the insulatingmaterial that form the spacer trim masks 202 and 222 is different forthe left side and right side spacers, which enables non-symmetricaltrimming of the spacers disposed on the opposing first and secondsidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126 and 128. Inanother embodiment, the deposition angles A1 and A3 that are used todeposit the insulating material that form the spacer trim masks 202 and222 can be the same for the left side and right side spacers, whichenable symmetrical trimming of the spacers disposed on the opposingfirst and second sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124,126 and 128. In another embodiment, the deposition angle that is used todeposit insulating material on the spacers on one sidewall (e.g., firstsidewall or second sidewall) of the sacrificial mandrel features 122,124, 126, and 128 can be large enough to essentially cover most or allof the surface of the spacers so that such spacers are not trimmedduring a subsequent spacer trim process (FIG. 8), and are maintainedwith the initial thickness Ts.

The insulating material that is used to form the spacer trim masks(e.g., trim masks 202, 212, 222) may comprise any insulating materialthat is suitable for use as a trim mask and which has high etchselectively with respect to the material that forms the spacers S1˜S8.For example, the spacer trim masks can be formed of an oxide material(e.g., silicon oxide, hafnium oxide) or a nitride material (e.g.,silicon nitride). The spacer trim masks can be formed with a thicknessin a range of about 1 nm to about 10 nm. The angle depositions (e.g.,200, 210, and 220) methods as described herein can be implemented usingknown techniques. For example, the angle deposition operations can beperformed using plasma CVD (chemical vapor deposition) techniques andequipment as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,080,239, entitled: Method andApparatus For Angular High Density Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition,”,which is commonly owned and incorporated herein by reference.

In other embodiments, the trim masks 202, 212, and 222 are formed byangle depositing a metallic material. In some instances, a metallicmaterial can provide better etch selectivity for a spacer trim process(as discussed below), as compared to using an insulating material toform the spacer trim masks. The types of metallic materials that may beused to form the spacer trim masks include, but are not limited to,tantalum (Ta), titanium (Ti), TaN, TiN, cobalt (Co), or other types ofmetallic material that are suitable for use as spacer trim masks in theprocess flows described herein.

After the spacer trim masks are formed on the spacers S1˜S8, a spacertrim etch process is performed to trim the spacers by vertically etchingthe exposed sidewall portions of the spacers S1˜S8. For example, FIG. 8is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductor structureof FIG. 7 showing an etch process 230 being performed to trim theexposed sidewall surfaces of the spacers S1˜S8 down to the targetthicknesses T1 and T3. In particular, as shown in FIG. 8, the spacertrim etch process 230 serves to vertically trim the left-side spacersS1, S3, S5, and S7 to the target thickness T1, wherein the remainingportions of the spacers S1, S3, S5 and S7 are protected from etching bythe spacer trim masks 202. Similarly, the spacer trim etch process 230serves to vertically trim the right-side spacers S2, S4, S6, and S8 tothe target thickness T3, wherein the remaining portions of the spacersS2, S4, S6 and S8 are protected from etching by the spacer trim masks222. The spacer trim etch process 230 can be performed using adirectional dry plasma etch (e.g., RIE) with an etch chemistry that issuitable to etch the material of the spacers S1˜S8 selective to thematerial of the spacer trim masks 202 and 222 (e.g., etch ratio of 10:1or greater).

Following the spacer trim etch process, the spacer trim masks 202 and222 are removed, resulting in the semiconductor structure shown in FIGS.9A and 9B. In particular, FIG. 9A is a schematic cross-sectional sideview of the semiconductor structure of FIG. 8 (as well as a schematiccross-sectional view taken along line 9A-9A in FIG. 9B) after removingthe spacer trim masks 202 and 222 from the upper surfaces of the spacersS1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, and S8 and the upper surfaces of thesacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128. FIG. 9B is aschematic top plan view of the semiconductor structure of FIG. 9A,wherein the original thickness profiles of the spacers S1, S2, S3, S4,S5, S6, S7, and S8 are shown as dashed lines. The spacer trim masks 202and 222 can be removed using a dry plasma etch process with an etchchemistry that is suitable to etch the material of the spacer trim masks202 and 222 selective to the material of the spacers S1-S8. In this etchprocess, a small amount of the upper portions of the sacrificial mandrelfeatures 122, 124, 126 and 128 may be etched in instances where thesacrificial mandrel features and spacer trim masks are formed with thesame or similar materials where the etch selectivity between thematerials is low.

The resulting semiconductor structure shown in the example embodiment ofFIGS. 9A and 9B comprises asymmetrically-sized spacers that aredifferentially trimmed to have different thicknesses T1 and T3 onopposing sides of the sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and128. The trimmed spacer thicknesses T1 and T3 are below the CD (criticaldimension) that can be achieved for the given semiconductor processtechnology that is implemented. As noted above, in another embodiment ofthe invention, an angle deposition and spacer etch process flow can beperformed using the techniques as discussed above to formsymmetrically-sized spacers that are trimmed to have the same thickness(sub-CD thickness) on the opposing sides of the sacrificial mandrelfeatures 122, 124, 126 and 128.

Following the formation of the semiconductor structure shown in FIGS. 9Aand 9B, the process flow may continue, for example, by encapsulating thespacers and sacrificial mandrel features in a planarized insulatinglayer (e.g., organic planarizing layer) and forming a “cut mask” that isused to etch the planarized insulating layer to expose, and then “cut”away, the extra spacer material on the ends of the sacrificial mandrelfeatures 122, 124, 126, and 128. The “cut” process would essentially“isolate” the spacers on the sidewalls of the mandrel (e.g., isolate thespacers S1 and S2 on opposing sidewalls of mandrel 122). Indeed,although not specifically shown in FIG. 5B, after the spacer etchback/pull down process, each sacrificial mandrel 122, 124, 126, and 128would essentially be surrounded by one continuous sidewall spacer formedaround the sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel features. The spacermaterial on the end sidewalls of each mandrel 122, 124, 126 and 128would be “cut away” (after the spacer trim/selective spacer removalprocess discussed above) using the cut mask as an etch mask to etch awaythe portions of spacer material on the ends of sacrificial mandrelfeatures 122, 124, 126, and 126, thereby forming separate (isolated)spacers S1/S2, S3/S4, S5/S6, and S7/S8 on the opposing sidewalls of therespective sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128.

Thereafter, the cut mask and planarized insulating layer are removed.Then, the process flow may continue by removing the sacrificial mandrelfeatures 122, 124, 126, and 128, etching the underlying hard mask layer118 using the trimmed spacers S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, and S8 as etchmasks to transfer the pattern of the trimmed spacers into a hard maskpattern, and then using the patterned hard mask to etch the underlyinginsulating layer 116.

It is to be appreciated that the pattern of trimmed spacers as shown inFIGS. 9A and 9B enable the formation of a pattern of structures withalternating widths (e.g., alternating between T1 and T3) which comprisesub-lithographic dimensions. For example, the pattern of the trimmedspacers can be transferred to the insulating layer 116 to enable theformation of metal lines which have alternating sized spaces (T1 and T3)on the left and the right sides of the metal lines. In anotherembodiment, assuming that the layer 116 comprises a layer ofsemiconductor material (e.g., silicon), the spacer pattern of FIGS. 9Aand 9B could be used to etch vertical semiconductor fins (for FinFETdevices) in the underlying layer 116 to fabricate a pattern of verticalsemiconductor fins with alternating widths of T1 and T3 ofsub-lithographic width dimensions.

As noted above, another embodiment of the invention utilizesmulti-angled deposition and masking methods to selectively trim and orremove one or more spacers using a process flow as schematicallyillustrated in FIGS. 10, 11A, 11B, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16A, 16B, 17A, 17B,18, 19A, and 19B. In particular, FIG. 10 schematically shows an angledeposition process 240 that is performed on the semiconductor structureof FIG. 5A for angle depositing a layer of insulating material to formspacer trim masks 242 on the upper portions of the spacers S1, S3, S5,and S7 that are disposed on a first sidewall (e.g., left side) of thesacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126 and 128. As shown in FIG. 10,the angle deposition process 240 is performed at an angle A4 to form thespacer trim masks 242 which cover upper portions of the left sidespacers S1, S3, S5 and S7 at a target level L4 (indicated by line L4-L4)and above. As further shown in FIG. 10, the portions of the spacers S1,S3, S5 and S7 which are covered by the spacer trim masks 242 have athickness Ts, which is the original thickness of the spacers.

It is to be understood that FIG. 10 illustrates one exemplary embodimentin which the spacers S1, S3, S5, and S7 are not trimmed in subsequentspacer removal/trimming processes. The deposition angle A4 is selectedso that the resulting spacer trim masks 242 are formed with sufficientcoverage on the upper portions of the spacers S1, S3, S5, and S7 toprevent trimming of the spacers S1, S3, S5, and S7. In anotherembodiment, the deposition angle A4 of the angle deposition process 240can be decreased to a lower angle (e.g., angle A1 (FIG. 6A) or angle A2(FIG. 6B)) which is sufficient to form spacer trim masks that enable oneor more of the left side spacers S1, S3, S5, and S7 to be selectivelytrimmed in subsequent spacer removal/trimming processes.

A next phase of the process flow comprises encapsulating the spacer andsacrificial mandrel features in a planarized insulating layer andforming an etch mask to selectively remove and/or trim one on or morespacers. For example, FIG. 11A is a schematic cross-sectional side viewof the semiconductor structure of FIG. 10 after forming a planarizedinsulating layer 150 over the spacer/mandrel features, and forming anetch mask 160 on the planarized insulating layer 150. The etch mask 160is formed with an opening 160-1. FIG. 11B is a schematic top plan viewof the semiconductor structure of FIG. 11A, wherein FIG. 11A is across-sectional view of the semiconductor structure taken along line11A-11A shown in FIG. 11B.

In one embodiment of the invention, the planarized insulating layer 150comprises an OPL (organic planarizing layer). In particular, theplanarized insulating layer 150 can be formed by depositing an organicmaterial using a known deposition technique (e.g., spin on deposition)which allows the organic material to be deposited with a planarizedsurface. This allows the planarized insulating layer 150 to be formedwithout the need for performing an additional planarizing step such asCMP (chemical mechanical polishing) to planarize the layer of insulatingmaterial after it is deposited. In other embodiment, the insulatinglayer 150 can be formed by depositing and planarizing a layer ofinsulating material. The planarized insulating layer 150 is formed of aninsulating material that can be etched selective to the material used toform the spacer trim masks 242.

Further, in one embodiment, the etch mask 160 may be a photoresist maskthat is formed using known photolithographic methods. As shown in FIG.11A, the opening 160-1 of the etch mask 160 has a width W (in theX-direction) which falls between a maximum width (Max) and a minimumwidth (Min). Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, the opening 160-1 is formedwith a length L (in the Y-direction), which exposes a portion (of lengthL) of spacer S4. FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrate an exemplary embodimentfor selectively removing a portion of the spacer S4 (e.g., length L ofthe spacer S4). The Max and Min widths of the opening 160-1 of the etchmask 160 represent the allowable range of widths (dimensionaltolerances) from the minimum width to the maximum width with which theopening 160-1 can be formed in the X-direction to selectively remove aportion (length L) of the spacer S4 without etching the adjacent(unprotected) spacers S2 and S6. In the example embodiment, the spacersS3 and S5 are protected by the spacer masks 242, which allows for alarger Max width of the opening 160-1.

In this regard, it is to be appreciated that the angle deposition inconjunction with the etch mask patterning enables the selective removalof narrow spacer features (e.g., with thickness Ts) in instances whenthe given photolithography process that is implemented is insufficientto form narrow mask openings that are sufficient to selectively etch aspacer or other target feature. In particular, assuming that that theopening 160-1 of the etch mask 160 cannot be formed with the minimumwidth (Min), the opening 160-1 can be formed with a larger width (up toMax width) to selectively etch the target spacer S4 without etching theadjacent (protected) spacers S3 and S5.

A next step in the fabrication process comprises etching away theexposed portions of the planarized insulating layer 150 and the spacerS4, which are exposed through the opening 160-1 of the etch mask 160.For example, FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 11A after etching the exposed portion ofthe planarized insulating layer 150 down to the hard mask layer 118, andselectively removing the portion of the spacer S4 exposed through theopening 160-1 of the etch mask 160. In one embodiment of the invention,the etch process is performed using single etch process having an etchchemistry that is suitable to concurrently etch away the materials ofthe insulating layer 150 and the spacer S4. In another embodiment, afirst etch process can be performed to remove the exposed portion of theinsulating layer 150, followed by a second etch process to remove theexposed portion of the spacer S4. The etching is performed selective tothe material of the spacer masks 242 to prevent etching of the adjacentspacers S3 and S5.

A next stage of the process flow comprises selectivelypatterning/trimming one or more of the right-side spacers S2, S4, S6,S8, which are formed on the opposite sides of the sacrificial mandrelfeatures 122, 124, 126, 128. In particular, as an initial step, FIG. 13is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductor structureof FIG. 12 after removing the remaining portions of the etch mask 160and the planarized insulating layer 150, selective to the spacers S1-S8and the spacer masks 242. In addition, as a next step, FIG. 14A is aschematic cross-sectional side view of the semiconductor structure ofFIG. 13 after removing the spacer masks 242 selective to the spacersS1˜S8 and the sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128. FIG.14A is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure taken alongline 14A-14A in FIG. 14B. FIG. 14B is a schematic top plan view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 14A. FIG. 14B illustrates the resultingstructure in which a length portion L of the spacer S4 is selectivelyremoved as a result of the previously described angle deposition andetch processes.

Next, FIG. 15 schematically shows an angle deposition process 250 thatis performed on the semiconductor structure of FIGS. 14A and 14B forangle depositing a layer of insulating material to form spacer trimmasks 252 on the upper portions of the spacers S2, S4, S6, and S8 thatare disposed on the second sidewalls (e.g., right sides) of thesacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126 and 128. Since a portion(length L) of the spacer S4 was previously etched away (FIG. 14B) fromthe sidewall of the sacrificial mandrel feature 124, some insulatingmaterial of the spacer trim mask 252 is shown in FIG. 15 being depositedon the sidewall of the portion of the sacrificial mandrel feature 124which is not covered by the spacer S4. Similar to the angle depositionprocess of FIG. 10, as shown in FIG. 15, the angle deposition process250 is performed at an angle A4 to form the spacer trim masks 252 whichcover upper portions of the spacers S2, S4, S6 and S8 at a target levelL4 (indicated by line L4-L4) so that the portions of the spacers S2, S4,S6 and S8 which are covered by the spacer trim masks 252 have athickness Ts, which is the original thickness of the spacers.

It is to be understood that FIG. 15 illustrates one exemplary embodimentin which the spacers S2, S4, S6, and S8 are not trimmed in subsequentspacer removal/trimming processes. The deposition angle A4 is selectedso that the resulting spacer trim masks 252 are formed with sufficientcoverage on the upper portions of the spacers S2, S4, S6, and S8 toprevent trimming of the spacers S2, S4, S6, and S8. In anotherembodiment, the deposition angle A4 of the angle deposition process 250can be decreased to a lower angle (e.g., angle A3 (FIG. 7) which issufficient to form spacer trim masks that enable one or more of the leftside spacers S2, S4, S6, and S8 to be selectively trimmed in subsequentspacer removal/trimming processes.

A next phase of the process flow comprises encapsulating the spacer andsacrificial mandrel features in a planarized insulating layer andforming an etch mask to selectively remove and/or trim one or more ofthe spacers. For example, FIG. 16A is a schematic cross-sectional sideview of the semiconductor structure of FIG. 15 after forming aplanarized insulating layer 155 over the spacer/mandrel features, andforming an etch mask 165 on the planarized insulating layer 155. Theetch mask 165 is formed with an opening 165-1. FIG. 16B is a schematictop plan view of the semiconductor structure of FIG. 16A, wherein FIG.16A is a cross-sectional view of the semiconductor structure taken alongline 16A-16A shown in FIG. 16B. The planarized insulating layer 155 andetch mask 165 can be formed of the same or similar materials and methodsas the planarized insulating layer 150 and etch mask 160 discussed abovewith reference to FIG. 11A/11B

As shown in FIG. 16A, the opening 165-1 of the etch mask 165 has a widthW (in the X-direction) which falls between a maximum width (Max) and aminimum width (Min). Further, as shown in FIG. 16B, the opening 165-1 isformed over an entire length (in the Y-direction) of the spacer S5.FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate an exemplary embodiment for selectivelyremoving the entire spacer S5. The Max and Min widths of the opening165-1 of the etch mask 160 represent the allowable range of widths(dimensional tolerances) from the minimum width to the maximum widthwith which the opening 165-1 can be formed in the X-direction toselectively remove the spacer S5 without etching the adjacent(unprotected) spacers S3 and S7. In the example embodiment, theremaining portion of the spacer S4 and the full length of the spacer S6are protected by the spacer masks 252, which allows for a larger Maxwidth of the opening 165-1 to be utilized in circumstances where, asnoted above, the given photolithography process that is implemented isinsufficient to form narrow mask openings that correspond to thedimensions (e.g., Ts) of the features (e.g. spacers) to be selectivelyetched.

A next step in the fabrication process comprises etching away theexposed portions of the planarized insulating layer 155 and the spacerS5, which are exposed through the opening 165-1 of the etch mask 165.For example, FIG. 17A is a schematic cross-sectional side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 16A after etching the exposed portion ofthe planarized insulating layer 155 down to the hard mask layer 118, andselectively removing the entire spacer S5 exposed through the opening165-1 of the etch mask 165. Further, FIG. 17B is top plan view of thesemiconductor structure shown in FIG. 16B after etching the exposedportion of the planarized insulating layer 155 down to the hard masklayer 118, and selectively removing the entire spacer S5 exposed throughthe opening 165-1 of the etch mask 165. The insulating layer 155 andspacer S5 can be etched using the same or similar methods discussedabove with reference to FIG. 12 for etching the insulating spacer 150and spacer S4.

Next, FIG. 18 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 17A after removing the remainingportions of the etch mask 165 and the planarized insulating layer 155,selective to the remaining spacers and the masks 252. In addition, as anext step, FIG. 19A is a schematic cross-sectional side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 18 after removing the masks 252selective to the spacers S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7 and S8 and thesacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128. FIG. 19A is across-sectional view of the semiconductor structure taken along line19A-19A in FIG. 19B. FIG. 19B is a schematic top plan view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 19A, which illustrates the resultingstructure in which the entire spacer S5 is selective removed, with theadjacent spacer S4 having a length portion L selectively removed from asa result of the previously described angle deposition and etchprocesses.

The semiconductor structure shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B illustrates oneexample embodiment in which one or more spacers, or portions of spacers,can be selectively (or singularly) removed using a combination of angledeposition and masking techniques. As noted above, it is to beunderstood that a combination of angle deposition and masking techniquescan be used for selectively trimming a target spacer (or trimming alength portion of a target spacer), while maintaining other spacers attheir original thickness. For example, the angle deposition methodsdiscussed above with reference to FIGS. 6A, 6B, 7, 8, 9A, and 9B forsymmetric and/or asymmetric spacer trimming can be utilized inconjunction with the masking methods discussed above with reference toFIGS. 11A, 11B, 16A, and 16B to selective trim one or more targetspacers to sub-CD thicknesses.

It is to be noted that at some point during or after spacer fabricationprocess (FIGS. 10 through 19B), the extra spacer material on the ends ofthe sacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128 could be “cutaway” using a cut mask, as discussed above. This cut process may beperformed in conjunction with mask/etch process of FIGS. 11A, 11B, and12, or performed in conjunction with the mask/etch process of FIGS. 16A,16B, 17A, and 17B, or by a separate cut mask/etch process that isperformed subsequent to the formation of the semiconductor structureshown in FIGS. 19A and 19B.

Furthermore, following the formation of the semiconductor structureshown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, the fabrication process may continue using,for example, a process flow as schematically illustrated in FIGS. 20,21, 22 and 23. For example, FIG. 20 is a schematic cross-sectional sideview of the semiconductor structure of FIG. 19A after etching away thesacrificial mandrel features 122, 124, 126, and 128 selective to thespacers. Next, FIG. 21 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 20 after etching the underlying hardmask layer 118 using the pattern of spacers as an etch mask to transferthe spacer pattern into the hard mask layer 118 to form a hard maskpattern 118-1. FIG. 22 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of thesemiconductor structure of FIG. 21 after selectively etching the spacersfrom the surface of the hard mask pattern 118-1. FIG. 23 is a schematiccross-sectional side view of the semiconductor structure of FIG. 22after etching the underlying insulating layer 116 using the hard maskpattern 118-1 as an etch mask to transfer the hard mask pattern 118-1into an insulating layer pattern 116-1. It is to be understood thatdepending on the relative etch selectivity of the materials used to formthe spacers, the hard mask layer 118 and the insulating layer 116, asingle etch process may be performed on the semiconductor structureshown in FIG. 21 to concurrently remove the spacers and etch theunderlying insulating layer 116.

For BEOL applications, the patterned insulating layer 116-1 comprisesopenings that can be filled with metallic material (e.g., copper) toform wiring and interconnects for the given interconnect level of a BEOLinterconnect structure. The process flow of FIGS. 20, 21, 22 and 23 canbe implemented using well known semiconductor fabrication methods, thedetails of which are not necessary for understanding embodiments of theinvention as discussed herein.

It is to be understood that the multi-patterning methods discussedherein can be incorporated within semiconductor processing flows forfabricating various types of semiconductor devices and integratedcircuits having analog and digital circuitry or mixed-signal circuitry.In particular, integrated circuit dies can be fabricated with variousdevices such as field-effect transistors, bipolar transistors,metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors, diodes, capacitors, inductors,etc. An integrated circuit in accordance with the present invention canbe employed in applications, hardware, and/or electronic systems.Suitable hardware and systems for implementing the invention mayinclude, but are not limited to, personal computers, communicationnetworks, electronic commerce systems, portable communications devices(e.g., cell phones), solid-state media storage devices, functionalcircuitry, etc. Systems and hardware incorporating such integratedcircuits are considered part of the embodiments described herein. Giventhe teachings of the invention provided herein, one of ordinary skill inthe art will be able to contemplate other implementations andapplications of the techniques of the invention.

Although exemplary embodiments have been described herein with referenceto the accompanying figures, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various otherchanges and modifications may be made therein by one skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A method, comprising: forming a sacrificial mandrel on asubstrate, the sacrificial mandrel comprising opposing first and secondsidewalls; forming a first spacer on the first sidewall of thesacrificial mandrel and a second spacer on the second sidewall of thesacrificial mandrel, wherein the first and second spacers each have aninitial spacer thickness; performing a first angle deposition process todeposit a material at a first deposition angle to form a first trim masklayer on an upper portion of the first spacer and the sacrificialmandrel while preventing the material from being deposited on the secondspacer, wherein the deposited material comprises one of an insulatingmaterial and a metallic material, and wherein the first trim mask layeris formed on a portion of an upper surface of the first spacer to covera first thickness of the first spacer, which is less than the initialspacer thickness of the first spacer; performing a spacer etch processto trim an entire vertical sidewall of the first spacer to reduce athickness of the first spacer from the initial spacer thickness to thefirst thickness using the first trim mask layer as an etch mask; andutilizing the trimmed first spacer to pattern an underlying layer of thesubstrate.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and secondspacers are formed with upper portions of the first and second spacersrecessed below an upper surface of the sacrificial mandrel.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein performing the spacer etch process furthercomprises completely removing at least a portion of the second spacerfrom the second sidewall of the sacrificial mandrel.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising performing a second angle deposition processto deposit material at a second deposition angle to form a second trimmask layer on an upper portion of the second spacer and the sacrificialmandrel while preventing additional material from being deposited on thefirst spacer, wherein the deposited material comprises one of aninsulating material and a metallic material and wherein the second trimmask layer is formed on a portion of an upper surface of the secondspacer to cover a second thickness of the second spacer, which is lessthan the initial spacer thickness of the second spacer; and wherein thespacer etch process is further performed to trim an entire verticalsidewall of the second spacer to reduce a thickness of the second spacerfrom the initial spacer thickness to the second thickness using thesecond trim mask layer as an etch mask.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the first and second deposition angles are selected to form thefirst and second trim mask layers so that the reduced first and secondthicknesses of the trimmed first and second spacers are substantiallythe same.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the first and seconddeposition angles are selected to form the first and second trim masklayers so that the reduced first and second thicknesses of the trimmedfirst and second spacers are different.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein forming the first spacer on the first sidewall of thesacrificial mandrel and the second spacer on the second sidewall of thesacrificial mandrel, comprises: depositing a conformal layer ofinsulating material over the sacrificial mandrel, wherein the conformallayer of insulating material is deposited to have the initial spacerthickness; and anisotropically etching the conformal layer of insulatingmaterial to remove the insulating material from the upper surface of thesacrificial mandrel and etch down the insulating material on upperportions of the first and second sidewalls of the sacrificial mandrel.8. The method of claim 1, wherein the sacrificial mandrel is formed of asacrificial insulating material that has etch selectivity with respectto the material that forms the first trim mask layer.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein performing the spacer etch process to trim the entirevertical sidewall of the first spacer to reduce the thickness of thefirst spacer from the initial spacer thickness to the first thicknessusing the first trim mask layer as an etch mask, comprises: forming aplanarized insulating layer over the substrate covering the first andsecond spacers and the sacrificial mandrel; forming an etch mask on theplanarized insulating layer, wherein the etch mask comprises an openinghaving a first lateral width that is greater than the initial spacerthickness of the first spacer, and wherein the opening along a directionof the first lateral width overlaps an entirety of the initial spacerthickness along a length portion of the first spacer and at least one ofa portion of the sacrificial mandrel and a portion of the planarizedinsulating layer disposed adjacent to the first spacer; removing aportion of the planarized insulating layer exposed through the openingof the etch mask; and etching an exposed portion of the first spacerwhich is exposed through the opening of the etch mask and exposed by thefirst trim mask layer to trim the first spacer down to the reduced firstthickness.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein utilizing the trimmedfirst spacer to pattern the underlying layer of the substrate comprises:removing the sacrificial mandrel using an etch process which isconfigured to etch the sacrificial mandrel selective to the trimmedfirst spacer and the second spacer; patterning a hard mask layer usingthe trimmed first spacer and the second spacer as an etch mask;patterning an insulating layer using the patterned hard mask layer. 11.The method of claim 10, wherein pattering the insulating layer using thepatterned hard mask layer comprises patterning an interlevel dielectriclayer of a BEOL (back end of line) interconnect layer using thepatterned hard mask layer.
 12. A method, comprising: forming a pluralityof sacrificial mandrels on a substrate comprising at least a firstsacrificial mandrel and a second sacrificial mandrel, each sacrificialmandrel comprising opposing first and second sidewalls; forming a firstspacer on the first sidewall of each sacrificial mandrel and a secondspacer on the second sidewall of each sacrificial mandrel, wherein thefirst and second spacers each have an initial spacer thickness;performing a first angle deposition process to deposit a material at afirst deposition angle to form a first trim mask layer on an upperportion of each of the first spacers and on the upper surfaces of thesacrificial mandrels while preventing the material from being depositedon the second spacers, wherein the deposited material comprises one ofan insulating material and a metallic material, and wherein each firsttrim mask layer is formed on a portion of an upper surface of each ofthe first spacers to cover a first thickness of the first spacers, whichis less than the initial spacer thickness of the first spacers; forminga first planarized insulating layer over the substrate covering thefirst and second spacers and the sacrificial mandrels; forming a firstetch mask on the planarized insulating layer, wherein the first etchmask comprises an opening having a first lateral width that is greaterthan the initial spacer thickness of the first and second spacers, andwherein the opening along a direction of the first lateral widthoverlaps an entirety of the initial spacer thickness along a lengthportion of the second spacer disposed on the second sidewall of firstsacrificial mandrel and at least one of (i) a portion of the first trimmask layer covering the upper surface of the first sacrificial mandreland the first spacer disposed on the first sidewall of the firstsacrificial mandrel and (ii) a portion of the planarized insulatinglayer disposed adjacent to the second spacer; and performing an etchprocess to remove a portion of the planarized insulating layer exposedthrough the opening of the first etch mask, and to (ii) remove anexposed portion of the second spacer exposed through the opening of thefirst etch mask.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first andsecond spacers are formed with upper portions of the first and secondspacers recessed below upper surfaces of the first and secondsacrificial mandrels.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein thesacrificial mandrels are separated by a pitch that is less than 60 nm.15. The method of claim 12, wherein the etch process that is performedto remove the exposed portion of the second spacer from the secondsidewall of the first sacrificial mandrel is further performed to triman entire vertical sidewall of the first spacer to reduce a thickness ofthe first spacer from the initial spacer thickness to the firstthickness using the first trim mask layer as an etch mask.
 16. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising: removing remaining portions ofthe first etch mask and the planarized insulating layer; and removingthe first trim mask layers from the upper surfaces of the first spacersand the sacrificial mandrels.
 17. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising: performing a second angle deposition process to deposit amaterial at a second deposition angle to form a second trim mask layeron an upper portion of each of the second spacers and on the uppersurfaces of the sacrificial mandrels while preventing the material frombeing deposited on the first spacers, wherein the deposited materialcomprises one of an insulating material and a metallic material andwherein each second trim mask layer is formed on a portion of an uppersurface of each of the second spacers to cover a second thickness of thesecond spacers, which is less than the initial spacer thickness of thesecond spacers: forming a second planarized insulating layer over thesubstrate covering the first and second spacers and the sacrificialmandrels; forming a second etch mask on the second planarized insulatinglayer, wherein the second etch mask comprises an opening having a secondlateral width that is greater than the initial spacer thickness of thefirst and second spacers, and wherein the opening along a direction ofthe second lateral width overlaps an entirety of the initial spacerthickness along a length portion of the first spacer disposed on thefirst sidewall of the second sacrificial mandrel and at least one of (i)a portion of the second trim mask layer covering the upper surface ofthe second sacrificial mandrel and the second spacer disposed on thesecond sidewall of the second sacrificial mandrel and (ii) a portion ofthe planarized insulating layer disposed adjacent to the first spacer;removing a portion of the second planarized insulating layer exposedthrough the opening of the second etch mask; and removing a portion ofthe first spacer exposed through the opening of the second etch mask.18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: removing remainingportions of the second etch mask layer and the second planarizedinsulating layer; removing the second trim mask layers from the uppersurfaces of the second spacers and the sacrificial mandrels; andutilizing the remaining portions of the first and second spacers topattern an underlying layer of the substrate.
 19. The method of claim18, wherein the underlying layer of the substrate comprises aninterlevel dielectric layer of a BEOL (back end of line) interconnectlayer.